CO·66
| Inscription | |
|---|---|
| Reading in transliteration: | kopiụ |
| Reading in original script: |     
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| Variant reading: | koliụ
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| Object: | CO·66 Como (bottle) |
| Position: | bottom, outside |
| Orientation: | 180° |
| Direction of writing: | dextroverse |
| Script: | North Italic script (Lepontic alphabet) |
| Letter height: | 2–2.9 cm0.787 in <br />1.142 in <br /> |
| Number of letters: | 5 |
| Number of words: | 1 |
| Number of lines: | 1 |
| Workmanship: | scratched after firing |
| Condition: | complete |
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| Archaeological culture: | La Tène D 1 [from object] |
| Date of inscription: | second half of 2nd c. BC [from object] |
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| Type: | unknown |
| Language: | Celtic |
| Meaning: | 'Kopiu' (?) |
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| Alternative sigla: | Morandi 2004: 197 |
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| Sources: | Morandi 2004: 648 f. no. 197 |
Images
 Inscription CO·66 from Morandi
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Commentary
First published in Morandi 2004: 648 f., no. 197.
Images in Negroni Catacchio 1979: 508, fig. 12 (drawing = Negroni Catacchio 1982: fig. 47 [one of them mirrored]), Morandi 2004: 647, fig. 23.197 (drawing, mirrored?).
Inscribed in a slight curve along the rim of the foot. Our entry follows Morandi, who gives the writing direction as dextroverse with a question mark, his drawing showing the inscription dextroverse and written inverted, as in Negroni Catacchio 1979: 508, fig. 12; Negroni Catacchio 1982: fig. 47 displays the drawing of the vessel's underside + inscription mirrored. The last group of scratches is somewhat messy, but Morandi's segmentation into iota and upsilon 
is the best solution, even though the form of upsilon is not common; upsilon determines the orientation of the inscription (head-down). The third letter can be read as pi or lambda, but pi is more likely statistically; kopiu can also be better analysed despite the (dubious) parallel for koliu in koliuetu (Morandi 2004: 692). Whether Morandi's reading kop̣iu is due to the uncertain reading of the letter or the comparatively long bar is unclear.
Two large irregularly cross-shaped characters (~7 cm) are scratched into the shoulder of the vessel, roughly on either side of the neck; they are surely unconnected to the inscription. (Drawing in Negroni Catacchio 1979: 508, fig. 12 = Negroni Catacchio 1982: fig. 47.)
